How to change Everything
by tjjenkins
Summary: This is my test chapter for a modern HTTYD story. It's my first story, so I would appreciate all criticisms and feedback. If there is a positive response, I will begin the story where I had originally planned and include these chapters in their correct place.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys. This is my first fan fiction! I appreciate any and all criticisms. If I find this is a story a lot of you are enjoying, I will continue and add the earlier chapters I had planned.**

* * *

" _-just appeared out of the forest like a wraith-"_

"Ingerman!" Mr Balore shouted as the computer Finlay was working on blared out sound, "turn that racket off and get back to work. We will watch the race, and only the race. None of that ceremonial crap they do."

"No sir, I can't," Finlay didn't even look away from his computer.

The class began to mutter. Finlay never spoke back. Finlay never broke the rules. "Why not?" Mr Balore asked, carefully approaching the computer. He realised that Finlay must have had a very good reason, seeing as this was the first time he had refused a teacher, ever, as far as he knew.

Finlay didn't respond, instead, he made the video full screen and leant back, noting that a few of the other teenagers in the class had moved out of their seats to see why he had rebelled.

" _The spectators, and even the race professions are in shock. It is obvious from the events that transpired that this was unknown by all race officials, and even the dragon community." The blonde presenter on screen was standing in front of a canvas tent, with other news crews surrounding her, each desperately trying to report. "Words fail me. We will show the footage again. It's something we feel our viewers must see with their own eyes to believe." The screen flickered and changed to the surrounding tents with the forest in the background and the words 'moments ago' printed in the top right hand corner._

"I swear Ingerman, if this isn't earth shattering, you will be in deten-" the words caught in the large teachers mouth.

"There's something coming out of the forest," Astrid muttered loud enough for the entire room to hear. Moments later, the camera man panned and zoomed on the section of the forest Astrid had referred to.

"You and that camera man have such good eyes," Riley chuckled.

"Fantastic for spying," Thomas smirked, nudging his twin.

"Shh shh shh-," Heather waved her hand absently in their direction, "is that a person?"

No one replied, too engrossed in the footage on the screen.

 _The figure seemed to emerge from the shadows. The cloak draped around his shoulders made his outline harder do distinguish. Behind him, another shadow began to solidify. It was larger than the cloaked man, in both height and width. "Hey, Doc," the camera man called in a hush to who must have been the stations dragon expert, before gesturing to the figures, "is that a dragon?"_

 _The doctor appeared on the edge of the screen, leaning forward, trying to peer into the shadows before he straightened up, "bless my soul," he muttered. He gestured for the_ _cameraman_ _to follow him and began to walk quickly forward, trying not to alert the other camera crews. He turned and began to walk backward, looking into the camera lens, a mad glimmer in his eyes. "This is doctor Bert, reporting live from this years 'Dragon Cup', the race that, for the last five decades, has become the most prestigious dragon events in the world. I am coming to you from the preparation grounds, where all participating dragon and their respective owners are preparing for the upcoming race. Soon, the beast will begin their trace from their temporary nests, to where one of their eggs are kept, and finally to the starting gates." Doctor Bert paused, taking a deep breath, "but something extraordinary is taking place at this very moment, and we seem to be the only ones aware of it."_

By now, everyone in the class was looking at the computer, and Finlay was trying to change some setting to connect it to the projector.

" _For the first time in over two centuries, definitive proof that the Night Fury has not gone extinct," he gestured behind him as both figures moved into the sunlight. The figure in the cloak was all but forgotten as a flat arrow shaped head emerged, its emerald eyes glimmering. It moved smoothly, its black scales absorbing the light. It was a majestic sight. A murmuring of voices began to filter in as more people became aware of the stranger and the dragon, quickly followed by shouts. Camera crews and guards began moving towards the pair; one determined for an interview, the other to detain the intruders. As figures from both groups drew closer, the dragon visibly crouched, and a deep rumbling began to emanate from its throat. The camera crews began to slow, allowing the armed guards to overtake and position themselves around the intruders. Most people at this point realised that the dragon did not have any restraints on, meaning it was very much free to move around and lash out. The cloaked man placed a hand on the flat of the dragons brow, hushing it immediately, thought it did not move from its lowered position. the footage cut back to the woman._

" _The man and the dragon were quickly taken into the tent you see behind me. Only race officials and a select few dragon experts are in attendance. From what we were able to gather, the cloaked figured demanded the Night Fury be allowed to race, provoking rules and traditions laid down centuries ago by the Vikings who first used this as a form of entertainment-"_

The teenagers looked around at each other, then towards their teacher. "Don't look at me. I'm just as surprised as you lot," Mr Balore grunted.

Heather looked around at all her friends, noting the small smile tugging on Finlay's lips, "what are you so happy about?" She prodded.

"-oh," Finlay looked around, startled, noticing all the attention in the room was on him, "I-i'm just picturing how excited Hayden must be right now."

"YES!" Nathan laughed, "oh man, my little cousin would be nerding out so badly! I bet he is just in the fedal position in shock!"

Astrid slapped him across the back of the head, though she and the rest of the class chuckled at the thought. Mr Balore smiled fondly at the idea of an excited Henry. He was his best friends son, who in his own right, was like a son to him. He looked at Heather, realising she must be thinking the same about her twin.

'Oh how far Henry had come in these last six months; and how much of an impact he seemed to be making among these kids, and even the school," Mr Balore thought.

"Shame he's sick, isn't it Gobber," Heather laid her head against her uncle like figures' arm, a half happy, half sad expession on her face.

"Sure is lass, sure is."


	2. Chapter 2

**I was going to wait a week before posting this chapter, try and make the keep a schedule, but I got excited.**

 **I'd appreciate if those who are enjoying the story to review and share it with friends and enemies alike. I'm not picky! Any comments are appreciated. Tell me what you think! What you like and dislike about it! I can't fix it if I don't know about it!**

 **To those of you coming back for the second chapter, I fixed some mistakes and added some lines in the previous chapter. It doesn't change the story, but feel free to reread if you feel the need!**

* * *

The man leant against the support pole in the center of the canvas tent. His fingers nervously tapped against his thigh as he waited for the race officials to 'talk over' his demands. A gentle bump against his calf dragged his mind back into the tent. Looking down, he saw the almost hopeful expression of his reptilian companion, his emerald eyes wide.

"Bud," he groaned down to the dragon, "we talked about this. Out in public you have to be fierce and threatening. If you're not, they might try to take you away from me."

The Night Fury's eyes narrowed, before carefully shuffling its body to a position where it could curl around the man. The dragon prodded at his thigh this time, accompanied by a huff.

The man chuckled, "fine, You win." He used both hands to scratch around the dragons head, the material of his gloves rasping against scales. "What would they think if they knew the 'unholy offspring of lightning and death' was a giant kitten at heart."

Emerald eyes met forest green as the mighty beast chuffed in indignation, "you're right, you're much too scary for them to even entertain the idea."

The flaps to the tent were brushed open. The man made sure the hood of the cloak was covering his head as six officials entered the medium sized space. They gawked at the sight of the mighty dragon wrapped around the cloaked figure, but wisely chose to say nothing.

"You have left us in quite a predicament-"

The cloaked man brushed his hand against his throat, "you can call me Ryder, with a 'y'," the cloak man prompted, his voice echoing with a metallic thrum, the voice modulator he just activated disguising it. Two of the men scribbled the name on sheets they were carrying.

"-Ryder," the man continued, "you must be aware that your demands have not been made in centuries?"

"I am well aware. The conditions I've brought to your attention are from copies of the original racing regulations."

"They are highly unusual, you must understand that-"

"I know what you are trying to do," the cloaked man straitened, pushing the dragon wrapped around him out of the way so he could take a pace forward. The six men shuffled nervously, eyes flickering between the figure, and the dragon who had very very softly started to growl. "We both know you are going to let my Night Fury race."

The racing official who had been doing all the talking brought out a small stack of papers, "there are some terms we need you to accept before we allow you to race."

Ryder took the papers and pen offered to him and began to read through them. Each time he signed off on a condition, the tension in the room lessened, right up until the last few pages. "I'm afraid I can't accept the last two conditions. I don't imagine that would be a problem though, would it?"

The man bristled, "these are the conditions of your dragon participating. Do you understand the regulations we are waiving to allow this? Do you-"

"Do you understand that you will be seen as the race mediator that recruited an extinct dragon to race in what is considered the most anticipated Dragon Cup to date? Do not test me," the Night Furies growl deepened, "you will not risk the backlash of the racing and academic community, simply because I refused your scientists irrefutable access to my dragon. I am the only human alive who has ever seen a Night Fury fly, and if you continue to force my hand, no one ever will. I have submitted to your requests for blood work. Two vials. One for drug and substance screening, and one for your scientists. That should be more than enough."

The man obviously wanted to argue further, but the glances towards the un-muzzled, growling dragon kept his lips tightly sealed. The rooms atmosphere lightened instantly as Ryder made a small gesture, silencing the dragon. In it's own right, the control Ryder exhibited was just as nerve racking as the dragons growling.

* * *

The teenagers eyes were all glued to the projected image. My Balore was sitting with them, all attempts to try to steer the class back on track were forgotten as reruns of previous races were shown. This particular race only took place the previous year.

 _The starting pens shook from the force of the dragons throwing themselves against the metal cubes, trying to break free. The dragon handlers were all standing around their respective cages, trying to keep their dragons from hurting themselves, while also keeping them riled up enough the race. A countdown started, with the crowd being worked up into a frenzy. As the countdown hit zero, the cages were thrown open to reveal the dragons clawing to get out._

 _They threw themselves against each other, wings beating, trying to get altitude. A purple Deadly Nadder fell to the earth, red flowing from an injury to its wing. A Monstrous Nightmare snapped its jaws at any dragon who got too close. The Skrill tore out in front. A crowd favorite because of its speed, viciousness, and its five year winning streak._

"I always forget how dangerous and violent these races are," Heathers face had turned pale at the images on the screen.

"What do you expect," Nathan didn't look away from the screen, "they separate a dragon from its newly laid egg, drag it away from its nest, show it where they hide its egg, then lock it in a cage."

"Nathan's right," Finlay grimaced, "to the dragons, this race is a recue attempt. They find their egg and return to the safety of their nest before it cools too much. Most people forget the brutality of it."

Heather shifted uncomfortably before turning to Astrid, "are you okay?" she asked, "you're being quieter than normal."

Astrid was watching the race intently, "I remember reading that the Vikings used to keep dragons as pets. I don't know if it's true, but I just can't imagine those," she hesitated, "…monsters being treated like domestic animals."

"The Norsemen kept dragons as helpers, not pets," Mr Balore corrected, "Vikings were the name given to Norsemen raiders, remember?" He waited for Astrid to nod before continuing, "the manuscripts indicate that dragons seemed to be a lot less vicious and quite peaceful back then. Very little rampaging and savaging those who got too close-"

"Yeah, look at them" Nathan laughed, gesturing to the race, "just imagine a person being next to those gentle giants when they're in that mood."

 _One of the dragons shrieked in pain as they reached the cliffs where their eggs were kept. The Skrill collected his in his mouth, barely slowing as it pushed off from the cliff face, dodging a Zippleback. The Monstrous Nightmare close behind it. The screen switched back to the blonde presenter from earlier. "We apologize for the delay and cutting footage from last years race, but an agreement seems to have been reached between race officials and the Night Furies owner, Ryder. The trace will begin momentarily. We would like to thank all our viewers for being understanding in the Dragon Cups delay. We are also pleased to announce a new addition to the racing roster this afternoon. Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in centuries, we will see the mythical Night Fury take flight."_

"Oh hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Nathan fist pumped the air.

"Calm down there Jorgenson," Mr Balore chuckled, his own sense of excitement growing. He glanced around at the room, noticing the only person not excited seemed to be Finlay. He froze as another thought struck him, "where are the twins?" he asked nervously.

* * *

The dragons were lined up in front of their nests, muzzles clamped tightly over their jaws. Each beast was being forced or enticed into a large metal containment cube sitting atop a trailer. The twenty different dragons required varying amounts of force and manpower to accomplish this task. One Nadder was being led by three men who were bribing it with chicken, while one of the Monstrous Nightmares had a team of twelve men, all armed with chains and cattle prods.

"Sir, you understand you need to provide your own dragon handlers to place your… Night Fury… into the containment cube."

Ryder turned his head towards the nervous man, judging him to be in his early twenties. "That will not be necessary."

"Your nest and egg? They also need to be supplied by yourself."

Ryder unslung the duffle bag thrown across his back and crouched, unzipping it. He stood with a long cylinder under one arm, and a matte black orb the size of a basketball between his hands. He casually tossed the orb to his very surprised attendant and walked over to the line of nests, noting the slabs of rocks, boulders and woven saplings which made up the other nests. He unrolled the cylinder, revealing a large red 'x', with a minimalistic head of a Night Fury painted in black on its center. He drove a metal spike into each corner grounding the entire sheet before turning to walk back to his dragon.

The crowd had gone very quiet at this unusual display, with all of the dragon handlers who had successfully caged their dragons staring at him.

"This isn't a dragon egg," the attendant seemed confused.

"It's the egg I'm using," Ryder watched as the attendant processed this information than hurried away.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," a voice announced when all the dragons but the Night Fury had been contained, "WELCOME TO THIS YEARS DRAGON CUP. AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE A TREAT FOR YOU ALL THIS AFTERNOON. THE FIRST NIGHT FURY IN CENTURIES WILL BE RACING IN THE PRESTIGIOUS EVENT!" The crowd ate up the MC's enthusiasm. "NOW, WE WILL BEGIN THE TRACE FROM THE EGGS, TO THE STARTING LINE-"

* * *

Astrid watched with the rest of the class, minus the twins, in silence. The cages were being toed away from the nests, much to the dragons wails of protest. All except the Night Fury, who was walking calmly beside the cloaked figure. Except for the screaming dragons, the broadcast seemed uncommonly silent; the first time Astrid could ever remember it being so. The cameras were closely following the Night Fury and Ryder as they walked beside the other cages. Astrid understood. She herself was shocked. Barely able to think clearly at the sight of this fierce dragon walking calmly beside a human as its brethren roared and shrieked and spat fire.

"This is unreal," she heard one of the boys murmured. She didn't know who, but it opened up a torrent of whispers.

"What do you think?" Heather slid closer to her.

"I can't," Astrid replied, "I've never seen anything like it. Listen. All of the spectators are silent too. No one is ballsy enough to heckle the dragons this year with one of them roaming free."

The walk continues for another ten minutes to the cliff face where the eggs were show to their respective dragons before being placed in metal containers and hoisted on ropes up the cliff face. Astrid forgot how unruly and defensive the reptiles truly got when their young, or in this case, eggs, were threatened. Their protests grew louder, and more terrifying. All except the Night Fury.

The black dragon carefully approached the attendant, who looked positively petrified. Gently, it prodded the black sphere with its nose, sniffed it, before chuffing at the attendant, then turned and plodded back towards Ryder, who had barely even glanced at the 'dragon egg', instead focusing on the cliffs.

"Oh, that's cold," Astrid whispered into Heathers ear.

"I kno-"

The doors to the classroom were thrown open as the twins burst in. They were panting, red in the face, both helping to support a large tub between them. "What on earth are you doing?" Mr Balore scolded them.

"We made popcorn," Thomas announced happily.

"For everyone," Riley added, a grin splitting her face, instead of its usual smirk.

Mr Balore was silent for a moment before he spoke, "you two never cease to amaze me. The trace is nearly over."

The twins made a quick circuit through the students, passing out doggy bags full of warm buttery popcorn, before sitting down in the center of the room between Nathan and Finlay, who made room for them as thanks.

By the time everyone in the class had settles down, the containers had nearly made it to the startling line.

"HANDLERS," the MC roared through the speakers, "GROUND YOUR CAGES, AND PREPARE YOUR DRAGONS." The crowd roared their approval, no longer silently staring at the Night Fury.

Astrid kept her eyes on Ryder as he walked towards the cage prepared for his dragon. She knew that the dragon didn't need the cage, but it provided an unfair advantage if it didn't start the race in one. Ryder stood at the entrance and waited as the Night Fury passed him and went inside with seemingly no prompting; then, quite unexpectedly, Ryder followed the Night Fury and sealed the door behind him.

Another silence fell over the crown. "What is he doing?" everyone was shocked as Finlay jumped to his feet, "he just sealed himself in a metal container with a dragon, right before the start of a dangerous and violent race!"

No one said a word. All the teenagers in the class were too shocked. Attendants and race officials present were running over the field, many gathering around the cage, trying to get access and see inside. Unfortunately, the cages were completely sealer as per protocol. It was a safety measure designed to give all those close to the cages time to get clear before the race started.

"UNFORTUNATELY, AS YOU ALL JUST WITNESSED," this time, the MC lacked his usual enthusiasm, "RYDER HAS SEALED HIMSELF IN THE CONTAINMENT UNIT WITH THE NIGHT FURY. AT THIS POINT, THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO EXCEPT CONTINUE WITH THE RACE AND HOPE THE CONTROL WE SAW HIM EXHIBIT OVER THE DAGON HOLDS UNTIL IT CLEARS THE CAGE. WE ASK YOU REMAIN CALM. AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL CREW WILL BE STANDING BY TO IMMEDIATELY ATTAIN HIS CONDITION. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND PLEASE ENJOY THE RACE."

Astrid felt warmth in her hand and looked down to see that Heather had gripped it tightly. She gave the girl a reassured smile and laced their fingers together. "Look away at the first sign of blood Heather," she whisper. The girl nodded, becoming even more pale. Astrid tried to reassure her with a slight smile. She could barely hold it.

A count down appeared in the top right hand corner of the screen. "10, 9, 8-" The crowd began to anxiously count down, "5, 4, 3-"

Astrid took a deep breath, steeling herself for the horror the entire world was about to witness.

A loud crashing could be heard as all the cages simultaneously opened. The roars, screams and screeches of dragon could be heard. Flames, heads, talons and wings could be seen, helping the dragons tear their bodies free of their containment. But nobody was watching those cages.

The world held its breath as they watched containment cage 11, but as quickly as they held their breath, they let it go. A black flash left the cage. The dragon bound once to the top of the containment unit, then pushed off powerfully into the air, it's massive wing stroking furiously, quickly outstripping all the other dragons as it climbed higher.

"Thor almighty," Astrid whisper as the camera followed the black streak, the camera man doing everything in his power to keep the dragon in focus. The longer she looked, the more she was certain. Hunched on the dragons neck, nearly entirely invisible against its black hide, was the outline of a person. A rider. Ryder.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thump, thump, thump._

The dragons muscles pulsed with each stroke of its wings. Even through the saddle, Ryder could feel the power of the beast that he rode. His chest was pressed as close to the dragons body as possible, trying to minimize the drag that his presence was causing. He knew he didn't need to do this, but the Nightfury was doing all the work. He'd feel guilty if he didn't contribute in some way, besides adjust the tail fin occasionally… speaking of which, he twitched his right foot slightly to compensate for the change in direction his companion had taken them.

The room was silent besides the speaker attached to the computer.

"-Skrill took the opening moments of the race to send short bursts of electricity towards the two closest cages, incapacitating one of the dragons. The Monsterous Nightmare has raked the side of a Gronkle with its talons during the climb, drastically decreasing the dragons already slow climb rate. If I didn't know any better, I would say both of the Nightmare and the Nadder are ignoring each other during the climb to try and catch up to the Nightfury, which as we all know, is so clearly in the-"

Astrid looked down at her hand, "are you trying to break my finger Heather?"

The girl in question looked down shocked, "oh, I'm sor- I didn't reali-," she looked up to meet Astrid's eyes, "I've never seen anything like it."

Astrid quickly looked around the room, "I've never seen anything that could shut them all up at the same time."

Heather swept her eyes across the room and chuckled nervously, "hopefully we can use the replays to the same effect." Heather looked back to Astrid, "I'm going to send Henry a text. I'm sure he's already watching the race."

"We both know he will be watching replays for the next six hours. I wouldn't be surprised if he was unconscious from shock right about now."

Heather and Astrid turned back to the monitor as the twins chorused together, "No. Way."

One of the sky-cams has a close up of the Nightfury and Ryder, allowing everyone to get a close look at the pair. The first thing Astrid noticed was the size of the dragon. It was quite a bit smaller than the Nightmare, but longer than a Skrill, and it looked more agile, but still more sturdy than a Nadder. Unlike the other dragons though, its wingspan to body ratio was surprising. The wings were massive; definitely wider than the snout to tail length of the dragon at least. Up and down, up and down. The beat of the wings were almost hypnotic for Astrid to watch. Not too fast, not too slow. Come to think of it, they didn't even looked rushed. She snapped her eyes back to the rider, and was able to refrain herself from gasping this time, settling instead to just widen her eyes in surprise.

Ryders arms were spread out wide, his fingers splayed, trailing through the light clouds that his dragon seemed to be carving through. He held his head back and whooped into his helmet. Even in this serious and dangerous environment, he couldn't help but be in awe of where he was.

He felt the dragons rumble through his body as he replied, then he laughed, leaning forward to scratch the flat of the dragons head.

"I know," he yelled, "we should probably take this more seriously.

He felt another rumble in reply.

"We will let the others make up some ground when we get your orb," he chuckled.

The cliff face was quickly approaching, and Ryder leant forward, taking hold of the saddle mounts, once more becoming serious.

Astrid watched in fascination as the Nightfury seemed to glide lazily to the sheer cliff face and find purchase on some of the bars that had been set in place for the dragons to latch onto. Even with the Nightfury hanging on vertically, Ryder casually dismounted the saddle, and using a combination of the saddle, wing joints, and legs to casually climb around the dragon and into the artificial nest, finally plucking the black orb from its center. As he turned back, he actually stopped appeared to stare at his dragon for a number of seconds before casually leaning against the wall and turning his head towards the approaching competition.

The Nadder arrived first, quickly followed by the Nightmare. They both seemed to crash into the cliff face violently, then began to tear into the artificial nests in an attempt to get to their eggs. Astrid was nearly certain that the Nightmare was going to crush her egg, but dismissed it nearly as quickly. A mother wouldn't crush her own eggs. The Skrill, Zippleback and Grunkle appeared next.

"The Gronkle has this," Finlay said sternly, while the others all voiced their doubts and own opinions.

Sure enough, the Gronkles ability to hover in mid air allowed it the float right into the nest, pluck up its egg, and back out. The other dragons weren't far behind.

"What is he doing?" Astrid heard Heather mutter to herself as the sky-cam refocused on Ryder, who had leant over the edge to watch the other dragons descend. He kept leaning until his center of gravity shifted and he fell, headfirst off the cliff face.

Astrid knew she should be shocked, terrified even, but she was more amused as she watched the Nightfury look over to its rider, only to find that he was no longer there, then quickly look down, then detach itself from the wall.

Ryder tucked the orb to his chest and plummeted headfirst towards the ground. His helmet was still a prototype, which allowed a great deal of whistling and sound to fill his ears. His eyes stung from the cold, and he squinted out of the lenses which only offered a small amount of protection. He looked to the side to see his dragon, upside down and giving him a look of absolute contempt. He laughed and gave the beast a thumbs up… even though he was still upside down.

Angling himself, he edged closer to the dragon, offered the orb which the Nightfury graciously accepted between his jaws, than navigated his way back into the saddle, quickly reattaching his safety line and belt. Once again, he took his racing position and adjusted the tail fin. Instantly, his friends wings unfurled and begun their rhythmic thumping again, propelling them even faster towards the ground, allowing them to quickly overtake the dragons who had already begun to slow down.

As the ground hurtled towards them, Ryder waited, trusting his scaly friends judgement on when to slow their decent.

Heather was crushing Astrid's hand again. The pair were the closest to the ground, and still travelling faster than any of the other dragons. A distinct whistling, humming sounds could be heard from the speakers. She caught the MC's description of the sound as a unique trait of a Nightfury, only being heard when they travelled at speed.

Both girls, and in fact, the entire class, jumped when the Nightfuries wings suddenly snapped open, forcing them to violently slowdown and hurtle forward at the same time. The dragon landed, but continued to bound forward, bleeding off speed each time it touched the ground, before finally coming to a stop in the center of the target Ryder had placed down prior to the race.

As befitting a shocked crowd, they stayed silent as they watched. They stayed silent until most of the dragons had landed. They stayed silent until the MC officially announced that the Nightfury and Ryder had won, along with a prize of $20 000, and an invitation to have the Nightfury race in more prestigious events, with the opportunity to win even more prize money.

It was at this moment that the crown erupted into thunderous applause. This explosion of sound was the catalyst which encouraged the Monstrous Nightmare to go berserk with fear and rage. The beast lit itself on fire and burst forth, breaking away from its handlers and towards the bystanders.

For better of for worse, only Ryder and his Nightfury stood in its path.


	4. Chapter 4

############## Authors Notes ###############

Thank you all for the overwhelming support you have given me. I had no idea my first story would be as popular or as well received as it has been.

I've recently created a forum for this story in particular where I will post polls which will help to shape my story!

-FORUM CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH MY PROFILE!-

On this forum, I have placed two polls in which I would greatly appreciate your votes.  
I have also made sections in the forum where you can post your ideas, suggestions, and recommendations that I will be looking at!  
After you review, you can go onto the forum and talk about the chapters as well! Discuss ideas and theories with others in the community!

Love you all!

############### Chapter Start ###############

"TURN THA' OFF RIGHT NOW FINLAY!"

The effect was instant. Finlay found his right arm pinned behind his back by Nathan. Before he even began to struggle, he heard a whisper that would have been ominous if it was said by anyone else. "Don't you dare," Thomas stared into his eyes for a brief second before locking his eyes back to the screen.

The sight of Mr Balore was almost comical to behold. It had taken the slightest tinge of red over his anger at being disobeyed, yet the look of confusion obvious as he stared at the extended index finger of Riley, who hadn't even turned away from the lunging dragon.

"Shhh. This is going to be brutal sir," her comment did not help the situation.

Before he could enforce his orders, his attention returned to the screen and watched as the Nightmare was reaching the halfway point between its starting position, and the crowd. Only Ryder and his Nightfury stood in the way.

Astrid was tired. Not physically, but mentally. She didn't know how much more anxiety and stress she had in her over this brave and idiotic man who had everyone's attention. For the first time since the program began, she sighed in annoyance as the darkly clad man did the most idiotic thing he could do. Ryder turned to face the flaming dragon head on; she groaned and quickly became filled with another bout of anxiety and stress once more as the Nightfury moved back from its rider due to a hand signal.

"This guy is an idiot," she muttered to herself, unaware that Heather was nodding in agreement.

Ryder could hear his Nightfury bounding away from him. This wasn't ideal, having his own dragon so far away while another was bearing down on him, but it was necessary. He had not planned to do anything this drastic so soon after revealing himself and his previously thought extinct friend. _Well, not for another year or two at least... at least six months_. He had a flair for the dramatic after all.

He knew if he looked behind, he would see his friend crouched one hundred paces behind him, ready to come to his aid if need be. Further behind him, he knew he would find a line of Dragon Fighters quickly establishing a defensive position along the grandstand barrier. Dragon Fighters were an emergency response team much like firefighters or paramedics; they are a group of highly trained experts who excel in fighting, trapping and repelling dragons in a variety of situation, this one included.

Ryder forced himself to take three deep, measured breaths before reaching behind his back and taking a fairly dense metal cylinder. Flicking a switch near the top, he turned on the spot with his arm and the cylinder outstretched. A distinct hissing sound could be heard as a thick green cloud billowed from the end of the device, encircling Ryder as he finished turning. When the flaming dragon was around thirty feet away, Ryder flicked another switch and his world turned red.

The green cloud exploded into flame. Heather had taken Astrid's hand again, but luckily, the shock was short lived and the dark smoke quickly dissipated, leaving Ryder unscathed in the middle of a circle of soot; an enraged, no longer flaming, but smoldering Nightmare was crouched five feet away, its eyes near slits as she watched its unexpected rival.

Every time Astrid thought that the room could not become more still, or more silent, she was again reminded not to underestimate anything that would happen today. The scene looked frozen. Even on the screen, the only movement was the tendrils of smoke curling off the dragon's skin. The only sound was from the Nightmare as a low growl that escaped its mighty jaws.

The human and the dragon had locked eyes, or so Astrid thought; she could not tell if the dragon could see through the lenses in Ryder's helmet. The moment seemed to drag on until seconds had become a minute, but still, nothing moved. The Nightmare eventually stopped smoking and its body remained crouched, its eyes were wider, but still had a fury behind them.

Ryder straightened from his half-crouch up to his full height, moving his hands, he quickly clipped the cylinder back to his belt before holding them to his side, making sure to keep his palms visible and facing the dragon. The Nightmares eyes narrowed, and its body tensed at the movement but quickly relaxed when she realized she was not being threatened.

"He's crazy," Nathan stated, looking around the room.

"He is chaos embodied," Riley's almost dreamy voice startled her brother, who looked across at his sister with a look of horror.

"He is chaos embodied," Thomas repeated firmly, "and chaos is not never to be flirted with by my sister. You are going to ruin our friendship."

"What do you-"

Astrid cut Riley off before she could respond, "he's moving."

Sure enough, Ryder had taken a step towards the dragon.

Ryder has done this a dozen time. No, that wasn't right, it must be more, he thought to himself. It, however, did not stop him from being nervous. It was with great effort that he did not look back to his scaly friend for reassurance. Gently, he slid his right foot over the grass. He had learned very quickly never to be without both feet on the ground when approaching an unfamiliar dragon. They mistake a step as an invitation to bite.

He kept his knees bent slightly and tuned his hearing into his surrounding. He could see what the dragon would do by watching its eyes, but he needed to hear if anyone was stupid enough to suddenly approach. Each movement was slow and deliberate, and each movement was met with fear and tensing of muscles, from both participants.

"Hey dragon," he cooed towards that giant, "you're not a bad girl, you were just scared weren't you."

The dragon shuffled its wings as if agreeing.

"Those people were just inconsiderate. You're only trying to protect yourself and your egg," Ryder nodded towards the egg still within the dragon's mouth.

Another shuffle of wings and nearly a mournful sound this time.

"I can't think of what else to say. So much has happened today already, I'm at my wit's end," his voice still light.

The Nightmare was very pleased with this last statement. It was her favorite compliment yet.

"This is the scary part," he smiled at her kindly, then began to raise his hand, palm outwards and fingers held straight. The dragon growled at the gesture and Ryder smiled sheepishly under his mask. _This part is nearly always universal_. He bowed his head and closed his eyes.

Seconds passed before… warmth. Even through his gloves, Ryder could feel the heat from the Nightmares scales pulsating. Slowly he raised his head and opened his eyes and once again locked his gaze with the Nightmares. He edges forward and pressed his hand more firmly against the dragon's snout, sliding it up onto the flat of her head where he knew the Nightmare breed particularly enjoyed. He chuckled to himself as she began to purr, he stumbled back as the red and orange dragon butted her head against his chest as if asking for more affection.

"You could have caused me quite a headache, you know that girl?" Ryder absently said as he reached up to the dragon's neck with his right hand, and into a small pouch at his side with his left.

Unseen by everyone spectating, he withdrew a small amount of light green grass which he carefully rubbed near each of the dragon's nostrils, causing her to relax and slouch her posture more than it had already become. He kept scratching as he began to trek back to the Nightmares containment trailer, the dragon keeping close enough for him to keep scratching her neck.

"Fall back," he called to the trainers standing in wait with the chains and ropes visible to the reptile, "you'll only get yourselves hurt if you try."

They quickly withdrew as they saw the Nightmares narrowed eyes and smoking nostrils.

No one moved to intercept or converse with the pair as they slowly walked back. Ryder chanced a look behind him and saw his Nightfury trailing at a distance, slowly getting closer as he and the Nightmare crossed the distance. The Nightfury's movement seemed a cross between a canine and feline as it stalked closer, then trudged in a lazy lope, before stalking them again.

Ryder needed to placate the Nightmare with some more dragon kip before she would enter the trailer. He stayed with her for a few more minutes after the cage had been sealed, trailing his hands over her scaled until she was calm and settles before standing and turning towards his black dragon.

He immediately noticed the Dragon Fighters had abandoned their defenses and stood clustered a small distance away from both the containment trailer and the Nightfury. Ryder walked over to the fighters, signaling to his dragon as he approached, allowing him to approach if he wanted. The Nightfury wanted to. He bound over to Ryder, tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth as it excitedly circled his friend.

"Real dignified bud," Ryder sighed, "you're meant to be awe-inspiring, not a puppy."

The Nightfury nudged Ryder hard enough to make him stumble in response.

"Peace peace," Ryder laughed, "behave… and don't make any sudden movements," he added, and closed the distance towards the group.

"Fighters," he nodded respectfully.

They looked at Ryder, a look of distrust and wonder etched on their faces. They were all big men and women. Heavily built, and all sporting scars of some description. After a few more seconds of uneasy silence, one stepped forward.

"Dragon Rider," he nodded back respectfully. He towered over most of the others, his auburn shaggy hair tied back in a warrior's braid, and his beard wild and unmanaged upon his heavy-set face.

Ryder carefully examined his heavy armor. A combination or dark leather and dark grey metal covering his frame. The mixture of melee and ranged weapons were also noted but dismissed as they were sheathed.

"Stoic the Vast," Ryder smirked up at the man, though he couldn't tell through the helmet. A small pause before Ryder offered his hand in peace.

Ryder watched carefully as Stoic tried to force down a smile that was trying to break his features, "that is an unofficial title thrust on me by my warriors," he glanced back at the men and women surrounding him, "you are welcome to call me by it, but I normally introduce myself as Chief Haddock."

"I'll only ever call you Chief Haddock when we are standing on ceremony," Ryder said lightheartedly, and grimaced as the Chief took his hand in greeting, "or when you make me angry."

The warriors howled in laughter at this comment, one of them stepping forward and clapped their chief on the shoulder, "may as well always call him Chief. He's too stubborn to make you anything but angry."

############## Final Notes ###############

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